


Trade Mistakes

by Rionaa



Series: Soulmates [4]
Category: Bandom, Panic! at the Disco
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Dramaaa, I couldnt decide who to pair Brendon with, I'm Sorry, M/M, Multi, Solomon's Clinic for Soulmate Solutions, much angst, so this was born, soul marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-28
Updated: 2015-12-28
Packaged: 2018-05-09 21:19:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5555732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rionaa/pseuds/Rionaa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Brendon and Dallon have been together for three years since the day they met and sparks flew... Literally.</p><p>Ryan and Spencer went from best friends to boyfriends when they realised they were made for each other... Literally.</p><p>Both pairs are happy until they realise that there is something wrong with their soul marks. They are deformed... Undeveloped... Incomplete?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trade Mistakes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Andrexala](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andrexala/gifts), [Mojjy2](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mojjy2/gifts).



> This is for Eve who constantly urges me to kill off her favourite characters. Also for Alex who threatens me with bloody murder if I do so.

Brendon smiled as he woke up and pulled his boyfriend closer to him. Dallon grunted as he too woke up, then he turned to face Brendon in bed.

"Morning, babe." He smiled lazily. Brendon grinned and reached his head up to meet Dallon's lips in a kiss.

"Did I wake you up?" He asked as they pulled apart.

"Yeah..." Dallon yawned and stretched lazily, "but don't worry about it, I would have woken up soon anyway."

As Dallon sat up with a stretch, Brendon smirked as he saw the hand shaped mark on the small of Dallon's back. He looked down at his own palm and saw the whitened shape, almost scar tissue, that marked the first time he had met his boyfriend of almost three years.

He frowned when he recalled a conversation with his best friend the previous day however. Pete had been showing him his own soul mark, a beautiful white, blossoming figure on his forearm that perfectly complemented the matching scar on his soulmate, Patrick's shoulder.

When Brendon had compared his friends marks with his own, his had seemed weak, almost deformed by contrast.

"You alright, love?" Dallon asked with a frown, bending down to peer worriedly into Brendon's face.

With a bracing grin, Brendon stood up and nodded, trying not to let Dallon know how he really felt. "Yeah, fine, just thinking."

"Okay then." Dallon laughed, taking Brendon by the hand and leading him into the kitchen for breakfast.

* * *

Ryan came home drunk again that night. Spencer had sighed and carried him to the bedroom, held his hair while he vomited over the toilet bowl, dried his tears, forced him to drink some water, just like he always did, but all the while he was wondering "why". Why did he do this, night after night, month after month, year after year? Was it because he and Ryan were soulmates? He wasn't sure if that even counted for anything anymore. Not now that they had figured out that they were deformed.

Spencer and Ryan had known each other all their lives. They had played together as kids, gone to school together, grown up together. Spencer's mother had told him about their matching marks on his 18th birthday. Spencer had run to his best friend's house laughing, and that was when he had his first kiss. The two had been together ever since.

But a couple of years ago, Ryan had noticed that there was something different about his and Spencer's marks. Where other people's were flowing and graceful, theirs were stunted and deformed. Spencer had passed it off due to the fact that they had met when they were less than a year old, but Ryan wouldn't let it drop. Eventually this had led to arguments, which culminated in Spencer slapping Ryan in the face. He had come to his senses almost immediately, but Ryan had already run out of the apartment.

It had taken Spencer days to find him and apologise. It had taken weeks for Ryan to trust him again.

Since that day, things had been spiralling downwards almost uncontrollably.

* * *

Spencer was sitting asleep on the armchair in the living room, tear tracks still drying on his cheeks.

Ryan padded into the room with a glass of water and a bottle of aspirin in his hand. He passed his sad gaze over his sleeping soulmate and felt a tear slide down his own cheek.

"Spence..." He knelt beside his boyfriend and ran a soothing thumb over his cheek, wiping away the tears. Spencer awoke with a start. "I- I'm sorry..." Ryan backed away quickly, "I didn't mean to startle you..."

"No... No it's okay..." Spencer held his arms out and Ryan went to him gratefully almost immediately. "How's your head?"

"Not great..." Ryan admitted with a grimace, "I took some aspirin but I dont think its working just yet..."

"Oh I'm sorry baby..." Spencer ran a gentle hand through Ryan's hair.

Suddenly, Ryan was crying into his shoulder. "I'm sorry... Spence I'm sorry that I'm... Like this, I really am... You don't deserve it and I'm sorry..."

"You're right, I don't deserve it," Spencer said quietly into Ryan's shoulder, rubbing soothing circles into his back, "but I'm going to deal with that, because you need someone to take care of you, and I know you would do the same thing for me."

"Thank you... I don't deserve you, I really don't, after all the shit I put you through... I'm going to try and change though, Spence, I really am."

Spencer knew this. He heard it almost every morning. Instead of replying, Spencer just sighed and continued to rub tiny circles into his soulmates back.

* * *

"Dall, I think we need to talk about something." Brendon was looking at a spot on the tablecloth, unable to meet his boyfriend's gaze.

Dallon put down his spoon. "What is it, B?"

"It's um, it's our soul marks."

Dallon looked up in surprise. "What about them?"

"Have you ever noticed that they're, well, I don't know, kind of weedy?"

Dallon burst out laughing before Brendon caught his eye with a reproachful glare. "Wait, you're serious?"

"Of course I'm serious!" Brendon pulled out his phone and brought up photos of other people's soul marks. "See? These ones are pretty and flowing and I don't know, they look elegant somehow, whereas ours are just kind of... There..." He trailed off as Dallon took the phone from him and inspected the photos closely.

"Well I don't know what mine looks like, it's not exactly in a place I can easily see..."

"You can see mine though!" Brendon cried indignantly, holding out his palm for comparison.

"I can, but I always just assumed that was what it was supposed to look like! In my eyes it's perfect, just like the rest of you." His eyes twinkled as he looked up at Brendon, who was blushing in spite of himself.

"I don't... This isn't the time for flirting, Dallon."

"Sorry." Dallon at least had the grace to look ashamed of himself. "So... What do you think it is?"

"What do I think what is?"

"The so called 'deformity'." Dallon replied, making air quotes as he spoke.

"I don't know..." Brendon went quiet for a moment, "is there, I don't know, a clinic for this kind of thing?"

"There might be..." Dallon handed Brendon back his phone and began clearing up the dishes, "let me know if you find something."

"I'm on it!" Brendon replied, holding up his phone.

* * *

"So what do you want to do about the drinking thing?" Spencer asked Ryan later that day. Ryan's headache had gone down and now the two of them were spending their mutual day off curled around each other on the sofa.

"I dunno..." Ryan replied as he snuggled deeper into Spencer's side.

"I could take you to counselling? Alcoholism counselling, that's a thing, right?"

"The problem's not the alcohol. It's the thing that makes me want to drink."

Spencer frowned. "What's that?"

"It's the thing with our soul marks."

"Oh. That." Spencer nodded as though he had forgotten and had to be reminded. "What can we do about that though?"

"I don't know..." The pair relapsed into silence.

After a few minutes had passed in silence, Spencer pulled out his phone and began typing.

"What you doing?" Ryan asked, craning his neck with a furrowed brow to try to catch a glimpse of what Spencer was typing.

"Searching for a solution."

* * *

After scouring the internet for close to ten minutes, Brendon leapt to his feet with a victorious crow of delight.

"Found it!"

"Found what?" Dallon appeared at his shoulder and peered down at the phone screen.

"Solomon's Clinic for Soulmate Solutions? Well at least it's catchy..."

Brendon swatted at his arm playfully. "Look, it says they do counselling for couples with soul mark problems. I bet this is us."

"Is there a number? You should call, make an appointment."

"Yep, hang on..." Brendon copied the number from the top of the page and pasted it into his call bar before pressing the call button.

Almost immediately a flat, monotone female voice answered. "Hello, Solomon's Soul clinic, how can I help you?"

"Uh, I was wondering if I could make an appointment for my partner and I?"

"Certainly, what's the situation?"

"I'm sorry?"

"What would you like to make an appointment about?"

"It's our soul marks, they're kind of deformed or something."

"Incomplete mark development. Doctor Tolstoy will be available at 3 PM on Wednesday afternoon if that suits you?"

Brendon relayed the information to Dallon, who nodded. "Yes, that sounds great, thank you."

"No problem sir, call again if you have any problems."

Brendon hung up the phone and placed it on the table before looking up into Dallon's face, looking scared. "What if there's actually something wrong? What if it turns out I wasn't meant to be your soulmate after all? What if this was all a mistake?"

Dallon stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Brendon in a comforting hug. "Shh... Don't worry, I'm sure there's nothing wrong at all. Besides, if I'm not meant to be your soulmate I'm sure as hell not letting you go to the person who is. You're mine now, no changing that."

"Thank you..." Brendon sniffled as he wrapped his arms a little tighter around Dallon's waist.

* * *

"What's that one there?" Ryan asked, pointing to a link on Spencer's phone.

Spencer tapped on the line of writing. "Solomon's clinic for Soulmate Solutions. Advice, counselling, group therapy, informative talks, surgery..."

"This one looks good." Ryan said, poking at the screen. "Common complaints... Sexuality- of course... Age differences, failed assignment, failure to meet, undeveloped or deformed soul marks, that's it! That's what we need. Is there a number?"

"Yes there is..." Spencer carefully dialled the number from the web page and held the phone to his ear.

"Hello, Solomon's soul clinic, how can I help you?"

"Uh, hi, my name is Spencer Smith and I'd like to make an appointment."

"Certainly, is that for yourself or for your partner as well?"

Spencer looked at Ryan, unsure.

"Both of us." Ryan said loudly, putting his face close to the phone.

"Certainly, what is the situation you would like an appointment for?"

"I think the website said uh... Undeveloped soul marks?"

"Right, I've got an appointment next Saturday if you'd like?"

"Haven't you got any earlier ones?"

"Well there's one at 3 PM on Wednesday which would be with another couple but the procedure would be exactly the same no matter how many people were there."

"We'll take it."

"Of course sir. Call again if you have any problems!"

"Thank you, I will!" Spencer replied before hanging up.

"Thank you for doing that..." Ryan whispered into Spencer's neck.

"It's not a problem..." Spencer whispered back, holding him close and wishing he could stay like this forever.

* * *

Wednesday rolled around faster than Brendon was expecting. At ten to three he found himself in the waiting room at Solomons clinic, holding tight to Dallon's hand. There were a few other couples and several people on their own in the waiting room, but no one that Brendon recognised. Brendon almost got to his feet and walked out twice but Dallon tightened his grip on his hand and whispered "it's okay" softly in his ear.

At last, the scratchy voice of Doctor Tolstoy filtered through the crackly speakers. "Brendon Urie, Dallon Weekes, Spencer Smith, Ryan Ross to consulting room number four please."

Brendon and Dallon got to their feet and made their way behind another couple. One of the other men, a tall boy with shaggy brown hair, soft brown eyes and a cute button nose, kept glancing nervously round at the door. He caught Brendon's eye a couple of times, and Brendon smiled in an attempt to reassure him.

"Spencer and Ryan?" The voice of the doctor spoke as the couple in front made their way through the door. The two men nodded in the affirmative.

"And this is Brendon and Dallon I presume."

"Yes, I'm Brendon, this is Dallon." Brendon reached out to take Doctor Tolstoy's proffered hand, then reached out to shake Spencer's.

Spencer took it, then both he and Brendon leapt backwards with a yell as a sound like a firecracker going off exploded in the tiny consulting room.

Almost instantly, there was uproar.

Dallon and Ryan stared at their respective boyfriends dumbly for a moment as they picked themselves up off the floor. Then both of them began shouting at their partners, who were in turn shouting at each other.

"What the hell just happened?"

"Brendon, was that another soul mark?"

"Spencer was that you?"

"What did you just do to me?"

"I think that was another soul mark being made!"

"What the hell did you just do to Spencer?"

Dallon, Brendon and Spencer all froze as Ryan's fist swung towards Brendon's face.

At first Brendon thought the loud sound of an explosion, the crackling pain across his face and the fact that he was flying across the room were all because of the impact of Ryan's fist to his face. But when he blinked open his eyes and saw past Dallon's face, half full of worry, half full of anger, he saw Ryan inspecting his fist curiously, on which was now an intricate pattern of white scarring. Brendon lifted a hand to his face to find that it was no longer hurting, he could feel nothing out of place, except for the faint dancing lines, as though he had been burned by fire a long time ago.

Dallon held out a hand for him to pull himself to his feet.

"Are you okay?" He asked in a worried tone.

"Yeah..." Brendon was almost speechless.

"Good, because I'm gonna-"

"Wait!" Brendon flung out an arm in front of Dallon, knowing full well what his boyfriend was planning to do.

"What is it?"

"It's just that... What if..." Spencer and Ryan were silent across the room, watching Brendon and Dallon warily.

"Can I put in an interjection?" Asked Doctor Tolstoy, who had been watching the entire altercation with some trepidation.

All heads turned to look at him.

"What I believe has happened is that the four of you may all be soul mates."

Spencer scoffed. "What, all four of us?"

"I cannot say,but it is more than likely. Spencer and Ryan, each of you have two soulmates: each other and Brendon. Brendon has three soulmates, Spencer, Ryan and Dallon."

"What about me?" Dallon had tightened his grip on Brendon's shoulders, his face white.

"The only way to find out is for you to come into physical contact with Ryan and Spencer. If a mark is created, as I suspect the case will be, then you too have multiple soulmates."

"What if... What if I'm not their soulmate? What if I only have Brendon?"

"That situation is uncommon, though not unheard of. If it transpires that that is the case, then we can set up some group counselling sessions if you would like us to. But just remember, the soulmates system is just a guideline. It doesn't dictate who you fall in live with or who you have to be with. So just go for it. Touch Spencer."

"O-okay..." Dallon held out the back of his hand towards Spencer and indicated that he should do the same. Hesitantly the two of them came into contact.

Nothing happened.

Dallon pressed harder against Spencer's hand, then gripped his fist in his own large hand.

With a panicked sob he dropped Spencer's hand and took Ryan's. Still there was no flash of light, no clap of thunder, no new markings on their skin.

Dallon turned around wildly and met Brendon's startled gaze, before letting go of Ryan and dashing from the room.

Brendon took one look round at the shocked faces before racing after his boyfriend.

"Dallon! Dall, wait up!"

Although he could never ordinarily keep up with Dallon's superior height and speed, the taller man was encumbered by sobs, his eyes blurred by tears.

"No, Bren, go back to your other soulmates... There's two of them, the three of you can all have a right little party..."

"No, I don't want them, I want you. Stop, look at me, babe."

Dallon turned slowly and raised his head so that Brendon could see his red, puffy eyes and his tearstained cheeks.

"You mean it?"

"Dallon, baby, I love you, more than anything in the world. You've been there for me throughout everything we've been through together, my only constant for the past three and a half years. You think I'm going to give that all up for a couple of guys I've only just met?"

Dallon looked down at him for a moment, blinking tears from his eyes and looking miserable. "I guess... I'm sorry. I overreacted... I was being stupid."

"Yes you were." Brendon wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's waist and held him tight. Dallon buried his face in Brendon's hair and inhaled the calming scent of his shampoo.

* * *

Ryan and Spencer got back to their apartment in something of a daze. After Brendon had run out after Dallon, Doctor Tolstoy had told the pair of them about multiple soulmates and the circumstances around the situation. He explained how it was rare that soulmates would not be mutual but that it wasn't unheard of. He also advised them to give Brendon and Dallon some space, at least for a little while, to let the situation sink in. He did give them Brendon's number, however, but told them to leave it for at least a week before calling.

* * *

Two and a half weeks after the trip to Solomon's clinic, Brendon and Dallon's relationship was almost back to normal. Every time Dallon was caught unaware by the sight of one of Brendon's new soul marks he would become a little more subdued, but he was growing used to it. For the first couple of days, the pair had taken time off work and stayed home together, trying to rebuild themselves. Brendon had tried to reassure Dallon that he loved him. Dallon had tried to convince himself that he wasn't worth less than Brendon.

Eventually, they had returned to work, but Dallon was still reeling inside.

Finally, just as Brendon thought things might be okay again, he had received a phone call from Spencer.

"Hello, is that Brendon?"

"Speaking, who's this please?"

"Hi, this is um, it's Spencer? Your, uh, your other soulmate..."

"Oh..." Brendon didn't know how to respond to that. "Um, how are you? And Ryan?"

"I'm fine, thanks, and Ryan... How are you? And how's Dallon?"

"I'm okay I guess. Dallon, Dallon's pretty torn up I guess but... I don't know..."

"Listen, me and Ryan were wondering if you wanted to meet up for a coffee sometime? Both of you that is. You and Dallon. We figured we needed to... You know... Talk about this."

"I don't know..." Brendon's tone was doubtful.

Just then, Dallon walked into the room. "Who's that?" He asked, gesturing to the phone in Brendon's hand."

"It's, uh, Spencer." Brendon replied, worriedly.

"Oh..." Dallon's tone was flat. "What does he want?"

"He says he and Ryan want to meet us for a coffee. Both of us. To talk about this. We need to talk about it with them."

"I guess so... Only if I get to choose the coffee shop though!" Dallon joked and Brendon smiled, glad to know that his Dallon was still in there somewhere.

* * *

Ryan and Spencer arrived at the designated coffee shop just before Brendon and Dallon. The two of them found a table and were reading the coffee list when the other pair arrived. Brendon looked awkward and nervous, Dallon looked downright terrified and not a little put out.

"Hey Spencer, Ryan..." Brendon greeted awkwardly. Dallon simply nodded his acknowledgement.

"How are you guys? I guess this must have a been a shock..."

Brendon pulled out a chair and sat down opposite Spencer. Dallon emulated him, sitting as close to Brendon as he feasibly could.

"We've been doing alright," Brendon replied after some thought, "as you say it is a bit if a shock but we're coping... Right, Dallon?" He looked to his boyfriend for confirmation.

"Yeah, coping..." Dallon muttered.

"The," Ryan hesitated, "the reason we wanted to meet you now is because this change affects all of us. I'm not saying we need to all be in love and live happily ever after, because that wouldn't be right by Dallon. But something needs to happen."

"I agree," said Dallon. Brendon looked at him in surprise, "I do think that we need to develop some kind of relationship with you guys. It's not fair of me to demand that you keep out of Brendon's life because of my jealousy."

"Thank you, Dall..." Brendon whispered, leaning up to kiss his cheek.

"Can we all swap numbers?" Put in Spencer, "all four of us?"

"Good idea." Brendon passed his phone to Spencer, who handed him his in return. Dallon and Ryan swapped phones and everyone put their own number in.

When everyone had their own phones returned, they ordered coffee. Brendon made a mental note of Spencer and Ryan's coffee orders for future reference.

* * *

After the coffee date, Dallon and Brendon returned to their apartment in silence. Brendon made a few half hearted attempts to starts conversation, but gave up when Dallon continued to ignore him.

When they got in, Dallon shut himself up in their bedroom and refused to open the door. Brendon begged him, pleaded with him, but Dallon refused to hear him.

"Okay maybe I shouldn't have brought you! Maybe you weren't ready yet, maybe this was a bad idea! Hell, I know this whole thing is my fault, of I hadn't suggested we go to the soul clinic, we wouldn't have met Ryan and Spencer in the first place! But I can't take full responsibility for dragging you along today, you know better than I do what you're ready for."

In the end, Brendon sat on the floor with his back pressed to the hard wood of the floor, rested his head on his knees and cried, while Dallon lay spread out on their bed inside the room, listening numbly to Brendon's sobs while tears rolled down his own cheeks.

* * *

Two hours later, Dallon opened the bedroom door to find Brendon asleep leaning up against the wall. With a sad smile he bent down, lifted his boyfriend into his arms and carried him gently to their bed. Brendon hardly stirred, his body and mind tired out from crying. Dallon pulled the cover over him and left to go sleep on the couch. He didn't feel he deserved to sleep next to Brendon. Not tonight after what he had put him through.

The next few days carried on in similar fashion: Dallon and Brendon woke up, ate breakfast together, left for work, got home, went to bed, with very little interaction.

After almost a week of this, Brendon confronted Dallon in the hallway after arriving home from work.

"Why are you avoiding me? I know you dont like Ryan and Spencer, but you said yourself, they are my soulmates as well as you, I have a right to contact them if I want to."

"It's not that, I just-" Dallon stopped. It was exactly that. He was jealous.

"It is that, Dallon. I know this must be hard for you, but you need to get over it. This isn't going to go away if you ignore it."

"Get over it? How can I get over it when the one person I thought I was going to spend my life with, my soulmate, turns out I'm not his only one, even when he is mine!"

"It's not like that!" Protested Brendon, eyes wide and face flushed in anger.

"Oh it's not? What is it like then, because that's what it feels like to me!" Before Dallon knew I what was happening his arm swung out and the flat of his hand made contact with Brendon's cheek, on exactly the spot where Ryan's soul mark was.

Brendon stumbled back, clutching his face and staring up at Dallon in horror, his wide doe eyes filling with tears.

Dallon's chest was rising and falling quickly as the adrenaline drained from him and he clenched his fist reflexively, feeling numb from what he had done. Brendon's eyes snapped to his fist and with a terrified whimper he dashed from the room.

"Brendon, wait!" Dallon called, rushing after him. The door slammed behind Brendon. By the time Dallon wrenched it open and ran out, Brendon was out of sight.

Dallon grabbed his phone and his keys from the countertop and raced out of the building. Once he saw the deserted street however he stopped. He didn't know where Brendon would run to and he knew that if he followed him he would only run again.

Instead of chasing after his boyfriend, he pulled his phone from his pocket and pulled up Ryan's contact.

Ryan answered almost immediately. "Dallon?"

"Yeah, it's me, um-"

"What's wrong? Are you okay? Is Brendon alright?"

"I- I don't know..."

"What's happened?"

"Brendon ran out... I don't know where he went, it's my fault..." Dallon sat on the front step of the apartment building and let out a choked sob.

There was the sound of something being put down on the other end of the line and Spencer's voice appeared in the background.

"Ryan? Who is it?"

"It's Dallon. He's crying, he says Brendon ran out."

The crackling on the other end of the line indicated that the phone was changing hands, then Spencer spoke directly to Dallon. "What's happened? Why did he run out?"

"I- we were fighting about- about you- and- and I hit him- and now he's gone and I don't know where he went..."

The was a sharp intake of breath from Spencer and Ryan whispered something that Dallon couldn't hear.

"Dallon is it okay if we come over? If you like me and Ryan can try to find Brendon... Do you know if he took his phone with him?"

"I don't know... If he had it in his pocket when he left... He didn't pick it up on the way out..."

"Okay can you tell us where you are? Are you still at home?"

"Yeah..." Dallon gave Spencer their address and hung up. With a sigh he pushed himself to his feet and turned to go back to their apartment.

He didn't find Brendon's phone anywhere he looked. He hoped that he had it with him.

After a few minutes the bell rang. Dallon buzzed Ryan and Spencer in. When they got upstairs he let them in and they all stared at each other for a while.

"I think he has his phone with him." Dallon eventually broke the silence.

"Have you tried calling him?" Spencer asked.

"Don't," Ryan cut in, quickly. Dallon and Spencer both looked at him, "If I were him I wouldn't want to speak to Dallon right now. Now offence, Dallon..." He looked up quickly.

"No it's fine... I understand..." Dallon leaned back onto the counter and groaned, placing his palms over his eyes. "Why did I do that... I wish I could take it back..."

Spencer stepped forward and awkwardly placed a hand on Dallon's shoulder in an attempt to console him. "Do you want me to go and try to find him? Ryan could stay with you if you wanted." He looked to his boyfriend for confirmation.

Ryan nodded. "Spencer's probably going to better at talking to him than me but I can stay."

Dallon nodded, his gaze on a crack in the floor, not meeting either of their gaze. "Thank you..."

"It's not a problem."

Spencer cleared his throat nervously. "Ryan, um... When you ran out, where did you go?"

Ryan looked up, his eyes narrowed. "I thought I told you never to ask me that."

"You did, but I- it might help me to find Brendon."

"I-" Ryan hesitated, "I went to the bar... But not- not my usual bar..."

"Which bar?"

"The one on the corner of Threadneedle street..."

Spencer's eyes widened. "The gay bar?"

Ryan nodded, ashamed. "I'm sorry..."

Spencer winced. "No, it's, it's fine. It was a couple of years ago. I don't mind."

"You don't?"

"I don't."

"Thank you..."

"I need to go find Brendon."

Dallon, who had been watching the entire exchange with an increasingly shocked expression, spoke up at this point. "You won't find him there... He wouldn't go there. He wouldn't."

Ryan nodded sympathetically and looked up at Dallon. "He doesn't seem the type. Just because I was back then doesn't mean Brendon is now."

"No..."

Spencer turned towards the door but looked back. "If you think of anywhere he might be, call me."

"Thank you..." Dallon whispered.

* * *

Brendon ran through the driving rain until he didn't recognise the neighbourhood anymore. When he was sure Dallon wasn't following him, he stopped and sank to the ground, sobbing and clutching his throbbing cheek. The pain itself was fading but what it signified hurt a whole lot more.

After a while he became aware of something digging into his hip. He pulled it out and found it was his phone. He flicked it on and saw four missed calls from Spencer. He frowned. Why was Spencer calling him? Did he know what had happened? How did he know?

Brendon unlocked his phone after a few due to his shaking fingers, and pressed return call.

Spencer picked up after the first two rings.

"Brendon? Where are you?"

"Spencer? Why were you calling me?"

"Dallon told us what happened. He asked me to look for you."

"Dallon told you? But he hates you..."

"Apparently he cares about you more than he hates me. Tell me where you are and I'll come pick you up."

"I- I don't know where I am..."

"Okay, tell me what you can see from there and I'll try to figure out where you are."

Brendon looked around. "On one side there's apartment buildings, on the other side of the road is a shopping arcade... There's a Walmart, Starbucks, a couple of bakeries, and a forever 21 outlet..."

"I think I know it, it's not too far from my apartment. Stay there, I'll come find you as soon as I can."

* * *

Dallon and Ryan were sitting side by side on Dallon's couch, just talking. Ryan had tried to take Dallon's mind off of the fact that Brendon was missing, with some success. Dallon had found that the two of them actually shared several interests. Ryan was easy to talk to and his wry sense of humour appealed to Dallon.

After twenty minutes, Ryan's phone rang. "It's Spencer." He told Dallon before picking up.

"I've found him. At least, I know where he is." Ryan pressed the speakerphone button so that Dallon could hear him. Spencer sounded like he was out of breath.

"Where is he? Is he okay?" Dallon's voice was strained and frantic.

"I haven't found him yet but he's just one street over from where Ryan and I live." Spencer replied. An ambulance streaked past, drowning out Spencer's next words.

"What did you say?" Ryan asked.

"I said I'm going to see if he wants to come back to ours for a bit."

"O-okay." Dallon said hesitantly, looking to Ryan for a reaction.

Ryan nodded. "He might want to stay the night. If he does, bring him back tomorrow, I can stay with Dallon."

Dallon's eyes filled with tears. "You don't need to stay. After all the things I've thought about you, you've been so kind to me, you don't deserve to be treated the way I treated you..."

"You're right, I don't deserve it," Ryan said with a wry smile, quirking his eyebrow, "but I'm going to deal with that, because you need someone to take care of you, and I know you would do the same thing for me."

Spencer laughed down the phone. "Didn't I say that to you, Ry?" He asked.

"I guess you did! Now go, find Brendon. Let us know when you've got him and what you're going to do."

"I will do. Love you, Ry!"

"Love you too, Spence!" Ryan ended the call, then looked up at Dallon who was staring down at him in disbelief.

"I am so, so sorry. I misjudged you, Ryan Ross. And Spencer too. I judged you before I even knew you, and now I know how much of a mistake that was."

"Oh yeah?" Ryan questioned with a slight scoff.

"Yes." Dallon spoke firmly. "The pair of you are two of the nicest people I have ever met. If I hadn't swallowed my pride and called you, I don't know what would have happened..." He swallowed down the lump in his throat and blinked back tears.

"Oh, come here." Ryan wrapped his arms around Dallon's shoulders. Dallon melted into the hug and buried his face in Ryan's shoulder, letting the tears fall.

* * *

Spencer saw Brendon almost immediately as he turned onto the street. He was curled up against the wall, leaning on a raised doorstep, his shoulders shaking. Spencer feared that he was hurt and broke into a run.

"Brendon!" He called as he approached.

The other man looked up with a gasp, tears running down his face. "Spencer..."

Spencer dropped down beside Brendon and pulled him up into a hug. Brendon's bare shoulders were cold to the touch in the brisk January air, so Spencer shrugged off his jacket and pulled it around Brendon.

"Wh-why did he call you?" Brendon choked through his sobs.

"He didn't think you'd want to see him right now."

"He was right..." Brendon muttered.

Spencer noticed that Brendon's teeth were chattering. "Do you want to go to my apartment to warm up? I can take you back to your place after if you want but mine is only a couple of minutes walk from here."

Brendon nodded dejectedly, his head down. Spencer hauled him up onto his feet and led him away in the direction of his own flat.

* * *

Spencer sat Brendon down on the couch. Brendon was still shivering despite Spencer's jacket.

"Do you want a coffee or something?"

Brendon nodded then closed his eyes, his teeth still chattering. Spencer grabbed a couple of blankets from the bedroom and draped them over Brendon, who wrapped himself up in them gratefully.

Spencer handed him the coffee and he wrapped his hands around it, savouring the warmth.

"Do you want an ice pack for your face?" Spencer asked after a moment.

"No, it doesn't hurt too bad."

"Okay."

"Thank you for finding me. Where's Ryan?"

"With Dallon."

"With Dallon?" Brendon sat up straight, looking panicked.

"Yeah, but they're fine, okay, don't worry."

"I wanna call them. I want to call them. Dallon hates Ryan! He hates both of you!"

"You can call if you want. Use my phone." Spencer handed his phone to Brendon, who brought up Ryan's number and called.

"Hello?" Ryan's voice sounded muted, as though he were deliberately lowering his voice, "Spence? Is everything okay? Have you got him?"

"Hey Ryan, it's Brendon..."

"Oh, thank god! Dallon, Spencer's got him. Dallon, wake up!"

Dallon groaned in the background. "Whassat?"

"Brendon's with Spencer."

"Oh. Thank you so much!" Dallon called to the phone.

"Dallon, it's Brendon."

"Oh." There was a pregnant pause.

"Bren, where's Spencer?"

"I'm here." Spencer offered to take the phone from Brendon who handed it to him mutely.

"Hey Ry, it's me."

"How is he?"

Spencer looked over at Brendon as a particularly violent shiver wracked his body. "I don't know... He was outside in the cold for too long, he can't stop shaking."

There was the sound of Dallon grabbing the phone. "He probably has hypothermia. Give him your body heat. Strip down to your underwear and get as much body contact with him as you can. Bury yourselves under blankets until he stops shivering and warms up. If that doesn't work call an ambulance."

"I- okay." Spencer hung up the phone and placed in on the table. "Brendon, I need you to come out of your blankets for a second."

"No... Don't wanna..."

"Brendon, this is going to sound odd but I need you to take off your clothes and come to bed with me. Dallon says you have hypothermia so I need to give you my body heat."

"No..."

"Yes, Brendon." Spencer took one of the blankets and gave it a tug. Brendon fell on the floor with a soft wail. "I'm sorry..." Spencer pulled him to his feet and stripped him of his clothes. Brendon stood shivering for a moment, leaning on the arm of the couch to hold himself up, before Spencer pulled his arm over his shoulders and helped him to the bedroom. Brendon crawled under the duvet and curled up, still shaking, while Spencer stripped off his own clothes and crawled in beside him. Brendon's muscles relaxed a little at the warmth and he drifted off almost instantly to sleep.

* * *

Dallon had fallen asleep in Ryan's embrace not long after he had broken down. Ryan had held him while his sobs petered away and his breathing evened out.

Now, however, he was wide awake.

Ryan had woken him up when Brendon called and now Dallon was pacing the room, alive with nervous energy.

"This is all my fault! I hit my boyfriends and now he has hypothermia! Oh, god, I wish I could take it back! I'd do anything to take it back..."

Ryan walked back into the room having been to the bathroom. Dallon had been stressing for the past ten minutes and hadn't even noticed his absence.

"Dall, you should sit down. Do you want a coffee? I can make us a drink."

"Coffee sounds good..." Dallon fell back onto the couch with a groan.

"How do you take it?" Asked Ryan from the kitchen.

"Black with one sugar." Mumbled Dallon, getting to his feet and resuming his pacing again.

After a few moments Ryan pressed a cup into his hand. Dallon sat down again to drink it. He grimaced at the flavour.

"Did you put sugar in this?" He questioned.

"Sorry, I must have forgotten." Ryan deadpanned. He took the cup, added sugar and handed it back to Dallon.

"Thank you." Dallon drank the coffee down quickly.

"Didn't that burn your mouth?" Ryan asked, curiously.

"No," Dallon muttered, blinking slowly, "I'm used to drinking my coffee- my coffee fast..."

"Okay then." Ryan took the cup from Dallon and placed it on the sink. When he turned back to look at the sofa, Dallon was asleep, his head lolling to the side. Ryan pulled his feet up onto the couch and lay him down flat, his head resting on the cushions, before covering him with a blanket. Then he returned the packet of sleeping pills to the bathroom cupboard.

* * *

Spencer lay awake for a long time, listening to the rhythmic sound of Brendon's breathing. After a while, the tremors that shook the other man's body abated. Spencer stayed with him though, trying to commit to memory the feel of Brendon's skin against his own, as he didn't know if he would ever get to hold him like this again.

Eventually though, Spencer, too, dropped off to sleep.

* * *

Ryan woke up the next morning with a crick in his neck from the uncomfortable position he had fallen asleep in. He looked across from his armchair and frowned when he saw Dallon still sleeping on the sofa. He looked up to see that it was 6:47 by the wall clock. He stood, stretched and stumbled to the bathroom.

When he walked back in, having woken himself up a little by splashing water on his face and rinsing out his mouth with Brendon's mouthwash, Dallon was stirring.

"B?" He called out, squinting at Ryan in the doorway.

"Sorry, buddy, it's me, Ryan."

Dallon groaned and flopped back onto the sofa, dragging one arm over his eyes. "I thought that might all have just been a nightmare... How'd I end up on the couch?"

Ryan winced. "I gave you a sleeping pill in your coffee last night. You were working yourself up and I felt that you just needed to be switch off and on again." Almost subconsciously Ryan shifted so that he was in an easy position to get to the door should need to.

Almost to his surprise, however, Dallon sighed. "Thank you."

"I'm sorry?"

"Thank you. You were right. I was overreacting. You did the right thing."

Ryan breathed a soft sigh of relief. "Shall I call Spencer and see if he's ready to bring Brendon home?"

Dallon glanced at the clock. "It's ten to seven, will he be awake?"

"Spencer wakes up early anyway."

"Okay then, thank you."

Ryan nodded and picked up his phone.

* * *

Spencer was awoken by the shrill ringing of the phone in the other room. He looked down and saw that Brendon had turned round during the night so that he was facing Spencer, their arms and legs closely entwined. Carefully he disentangled himself and ran to the other room.

Just as he picked up the phone the ringing stopped.

"Spencer?" Brendon croaked from the bedroom.

Spencer turned and saw his face poking out from the duvet he had cocooned himself in and couldn't help it. He had to smile. It was too cute.

"Morning, B. How you doing?"

"My head hurts..." Brendon groaned, burying his face in the blanket.

"I'll get you some painkillers. It's probably the hypothermia."

"Thank you..."

"No problem." Spencer fetched two paracetamol and a glass of water and gave them to Brendon, who sat up to take them.

After a moment the phone began to ring again in Spencer's hand. He jumped, having forgotten about it.

"Ryan, is everything okay?"

"Yes, why?"

"Its seven o'clock in the morning."

"Oh... Sorry, did I wake you?"

"A little bit..." Spencer grumbled.

"Sorry about that..."

"It's fine..."

"Me and Dallon were wondering when you're going to bring Brendon home."

"Well I was planning on doing it when we both woke up-"

"Well you're awake now!"

"-in our own time..."

"Is Brendon awake?"

"Yes, I am!" He called, hoarsely.

"Do you feel ready to come home now or do you want to stay with Spencer for a while?"

Brendon looked up at Spencer before replying quietly. "I need Dallon. I want to go home."

* * *

Dallon almost cried in relief when he heard Brendon say those words.

"I need Dallon"

He hadn't ruined everything.

Brendon wanted to come home.

Brendon needed him.

"Dallon?" He focused his eyes and saw Ryan watching him.

"Hm?"

"Spencer's going to drive Brendon over later on this morning."

Dallon looked up into Ryan's face, his brown doe eyes wide and his button nose wrinkled in concern, and found himself unable to speak. Instead, he placed a hand on each of Ryan's thin shoulders and pulled him down into a tight embrace.

Ryan squeaked in surprise but reciprocated the gesture almost immediately.

"Thank you..." Dallon finally whispered into Ryan's shoulder. Ryan said nothing in return, simply squeezed him a little tighter.

* * *

Brendon hesitated at the front door to the apartment.

"What is it?" Spencer asked, placing a conciliatory hand on his shoulder.

"I don't have a key. I left it behind when I ran out."

"I can knock?" Spencer phrased it like a question.

Brendon nodded and Spencer rapped his knuckles on the door.

Almost immediately the door flew open and Dallon wrapped himself around Brendon, who made a startled noise but instantly wrapped his arms around Dallon's waist.

"I'm so sorry, B..." Dallon sobbed, carding a hand through Brendon's hair. "I'm so, so sorry..."

"I'm sorry too..." Sniffled Brendon, inhaling Dallon's familiar scent deeply.

Ryan slipped out of the door to stand beside Spencer. He slipped his hand into his boyfriend's and they shared a glance, watching Brendon and Dallon.

After a moment, the other two men broke apart and Dallon tackled Ryan and Spencer in another hug. "And I am so sorry to both of you as well. I misjudged you, the pair of you and you have no idea how much I regret that now."

"It's okay, we forgive you." Murmured Ryan softly.

Brendon joined the hug. "Thank you Spencer for coming to find me, and thank you Ryan for looking after Dallon."

"It's fine, seriously." Spencer smiled at Brendon over Ryan's shoulder.

The four of them broke apart. Ryan yawned. "Can we go home, Spence? I didn't sleep much last night..."

"Of course. Bye, Brendon, Dallon..."

"Bye, thanks for everything." Dallon smiled.

"Goodbye..." Brendon smiled shyly before darting forward and kissing both of them on the cheek. Then he looked round at Dallon, suddenly startled, unsure of what reaction he would receive. But Dallon simply smiled and took his hand reassuringly.

"Call us! I- I want to get to know you properly, before I feel entitled to pass any sort of judgement on you!" Dallon called after Ryan and Spencer as they headed down the stairwell.

"Thank you, we will!" Spencer replied as they reached the next floor down.

Dallon smiled as he placed a hand on the small of Brendon's back and guided him into their apartment, catching a glimpse of Ryan's soul mark as the small man turned his face to look adoringly up at his boyfriend, and felt, for the first time, not a twinge of jealousy.


End file.
